


Strokes to My Heart

by Mackenziejen



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha Victor Nikiforov, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, M/M, Omega Katsuki Yuuri, Omega Verse, Russian Empire, Vicchan Lives, Yuuri is an Art critic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 07:59:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15725256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mackenziejen/pseuds/Mackenziejen
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki is just a normal omega, except for the fact that he is also Eros the highly renowned artist turned art critic. After a long path, Yuuri ends up getting hired by a mysterious family in Russia to curate their art collection. He knows nothing about them other than the fact that they are powerful Russian family. Well as it turns out that family is the Russian Royal family.





	Strokes to My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone! First of all, I just want to thank Ars Matron, she was my Beta for this chapter. If there are any mistakes I'm sorry, the reason we had technical difficulties.

 

It never occurred to Yuuri when he took this job that Russia would be colder than Detroit was in the winter. The coat that had lasted all of his college years and kept him warm, but in Russia it was useless. Yuuri felt like he was freezing, and it didn’t help when a gust of wind hit him hard enough that it not only made him take a step back but it also took all the breath he had away. It almost felt like he had ice growing in his veins it was so cold. Yuuri was so cold he wondered if he would be a human statue before long. 

 

At least his dog was warm, the lucky thing had a wireless heating element in the kennel with him. Not to mention the sweater that Yuuri finally managed to wrestle him into. He made sure that was the second thing that happened when he took Vicchan out of the kennel, the first being that he got to potty. For a little dog that enjoyed wearing clothing, getting Vicchan into them was certainly a hard task. But Yuuri didn’t mind that his dog was a little hard to get into clothing, at his age Yuuri wouldn’t want to be wearing much either. This, however, did not help the fact that his dog was warm and happily asleep and Yuuri was out in the cold. To say Yuuri wished he could crawl in the kennel with him was an understatement, he was a bit jealous that his dog was warm and he wasn’t. It didn’t help that Yuuri could hear the small snores and sighs from within. 

 

With all the noise and hustle around Yuuri he glad that he had found a spot away from most of it. Yuuri didn’t mind though, it helped him to clear his head. At least it helped to calm his nerves and ease the anxiety that he was feeling. Keeping his mind on something else had always but after coming right out of a heat he needed the distraction. After coming right out of a heat Yuuri found that moving was never a smart idea, but that was the price you had to pay when you were the great Eros or at least had been. That was before Yuuri agreed to be a curator for a family. 

 

The once artist extraordinaire had been an art critic before taking this job. It never failed to both amaze and irritate Yuuri how life could take you in unexpected directions. That didn’t matter much now though, he would be working on curating the art for some family with money and power. Yuuri had also been told that any original works he did the family would have first picked over but Yuuri was told he couldn’t know who this family was till he arrived. Which made him think either they were going to kill him or the press would get a hold of the information and ruin things. 

 

Even though Yuuri had agreed to give any art he made to this family he doubted that would happen. Yuuri had lost his muse a while ago, he simply didn’t have the drive for it anymore. That itch to create something and to have your hands covered in charcoal and paint while the clock ticked behind you. Music playing in the background as you lost yourself in the melodies playing, the steady tick of the clock, and the smooth feel of the brush as it glided across the canvas. It wasn’t that he didn’t miss that, he did but he just didn’t have it in him anymore. 

 

So that was when he started to critique art, it started at a small local college affair. Just something to get out and see what others were doing. He had only meant to get out and get some inspiration. But what he got instead of his muse was a job. When that spark didn’t come back after years of hard work he gave up, his work as a critic started to become more in demand internationally and here he was. In Russia waiting for his ride to come pick him up. He only took this job because it allowed him to get out of the country. He was being stifled under the weight of just loosening his biological mother, that’s why he had agreed to everything. He still had the woman he considered his mother, Hiroko. But his biological mother was gone. 

 

Hiroko had, of course, birthed Yuuri but after Mari, she couldn’t get pregnant so she used a donor egg. Yuuri had met him a few times and they became friends. But that feeling of losing not only your friend but the man that made it so you could walk on this earth was funny. While most Yuuri’s friends in school only had one mother, unless they came from a full female house; Yuuri had his mommies. Hiroko was his mother and the one that fed and clothed him, but Aito was the one that he went to when he needed to understand what was going on with his body as a male omega or how to handle the alphas at school. Aito was in his life from the beginning because his mothers thought it was important that Yuuri knew where he came from. Hiroko and Aiko have been childhood friends so it wasn’t as though they didn’t see each other often. Yuuri can remember that his mother's called him ‘their son’, they were also so proud of ‘their son’. 

 

But after the death of Aiko Yuuri had to get away: so here he stood, on the curb of the airport waiting for his rid. He had been told that he would be picked up by a black sedan and the driver would hold a sign with his name on it. This signs would have not only in his native spelling but the English spelling as well, mostly for convenience and ease of recognition. He was also to know it was the correct car because of the Russian flags that were on the car. Three stripes of white, blue, and red all even and a simplistic design that would let Yuuri know that was his ride. Yuuri honestly didn’t care. He just wanted to relax for five minutes before he had to rush off to do something else. 

 

Yuuri just felt vexed that he couldn’t do anything other than stand out in this cold and wait. It wasn’t that Yuuri was annoyed that his ride was late, it appeared that there was a long line of cars to pick up people. He was annoyed not only from the weather and his idiotic thought that he didn’t need to put a layer below his jacket, other than the thin sweater that he was wearing under it. It also didn’t help that he had his dog with him, even though Vicchan had a heating element with him the longer he was in the cold the stiffer he would be in the morning. Vicchan was getting old and his joints would get stiff if the weather was cold. So Yuuri did everything he could to keep his dog warm, safe, and pain-free.

 

The third factor was just coming out of a heat wasn’t helping either, this was the price to pay for just ending a heat less than a few hours ago before jumping on a flight to Russia. He was tired, he didn’t feel like he was safe because of all the people looking at him. Carrying a kennel on its own wouldn’t be alarming to most, but he was also a foreigner. The blanket on Vicchan’s kennel was also printed in poodles and had the dog’s name embroidered in Kanji on it, the same poodle print was on his phone case as well. It didn’t help either that he was meant to have been picked up fifteen minutes ago and was just standing in the cold while he looked down the line of cars. Yuuri mumbled under his breath from time to time about how the cold was irritating and how his poor dog would suffer because of it. This was all said in his native tongue, Yuuri was more or less a little on edge and irritable from being in a cramped seat for hours on end. There was something else he couldn’t put his finger on that was making him even more irritable… 

 

When he could see the black sedan with the flags on it, in the long line of cars that helped. The three colors waving in the wind as the car sat spotless and impressive. That was what Yuuri saw first. The stark difference between the white and blue against the grey and cloudy day. The flags whipping in the wind as it blew. But the car, that wasn’t something Yuuri was expecting… It was a luxury car that was for sure. It wasn’t the small box that many of the cars around were, it was a modern car with sleek lines and was probably imported from somewhere. Yuuri wouldn’t be able to tell where the car had come from till he could see what brand it was. That was assuming it was a major brand. If wasn’t Yuuri, wouldn’t recognize it. 

 

Yuuri didn’t walk to the car that was more than likely the one to pick him up. He had not seen any other black sedan's, or any other cars with flags on them. The reason Yuuri didn’t walk down to the car was the sidewalk didn’t go all the way down to the car. Yuuri would be walking down the side of the road, not only in the berm but in shoes that weren’t meant to be in the snow; while wheeling a suitcase and carrying a dog kennel with a wiggling dog. He was already cold, wet feet wouldn’t help his mood as well as putting him at more risk for a cold. Yuuri was already more vulnerable because he was in a foreign country and was fresh out of a heat. Getting his feet wet would only tempt fate farther. So Yuuri just stood on the sidewalk and waited. He wasn’t one to mingle so he would just wait and try to stay warm, talking to Vicchan softly from time to time to keep him calm.

 

While standing on the sidewalk Yuuri did his best not to get pushed back by the wind when it would hit him. It was a little harder than he expected but sitting on his suitcase as he waited wasn’t the best idea either. The wind hit just right a couple of times and Yuuri almost fell right on Vicchan’s kennel. So he decided to just wait standing up. The car that Yuuri was waiting for was still pretty far back. It was when a gust of wind hit Yuuri so hard that he had the breath taken right from him and his bones feeling like they were now made of ice that he felt like he needed to move to keep warm.

 

Yuuri moved his hands a bit to try and get some blood into his hands. He stood and shook out his legs a bit as well. Anything to try and get his blood to move. He even went as far and carefully swinging his body around to get his heart rate up. Yuuri was careful with his because the last thing he wanted to do was hit, anyone. He himself disliked when someone swung around when they weren’t being careful and hit someone. Yuuri made sure to take up as little space doing this as he could. The space he used was no more than he needed and too many would seem too small to do anything, but it worked for him. There were a few people that looked at him like he was crazy but most understood. They knew the struggle of keeping warm in this harsh environment. Though some of them seemed to think Yuuri’s actions were over dramatic and unneeded. Yuuri didn’t care what they thought right now. He only had a few things on his mind: the first, was to keep warm; the second, was to make sure he caught his ride; and the final was to get poor Vicchan out of the cold. 

 

When Yuuri looked up to see where the car was, he saw just a few cars away but it seemed everyone was taking their time. So he kept his hands moving because it felt like if he didn’t they would freeze in one position. It seemed to be working somewhat, just not as well as he had hoped. Yuuri watched as the driver of the sedan with the flags put a sign in the window. That was the final thing he was looking for, and now it was in the passenger window. It was just far enough away that Yuuri couldn’t read it. But seeing as it was the only black car, as well as having the flags flying in the wind it met both criteria and now that there was a sign in the window that pretty well made it seem like that was his ride. Yuuri wouldn’t know until he could see the sign though. All that was visible was the white paper, glitter glue and a crude drawing that could have been drawn by a child. From the angle Yuuri could see it, it was stretched and distorted though so he couldn’t really be sure. 

 

As he waited he heard a child cry and fidget away from his mother just a few feet. She managed to grab him and pull him back to her. Yuuri felt bad for her. She was just trying to get the young boy in some gloves to keep his hands warm and he was overwhelmed and not having it. Yuuri would happily take those gloves if only the child understood that his mother was trying to help him and keep him from getting ill… When the boy took off away from his mother again and ran towards Yuuri to get away from the constant pressure of having to put on gloves. 

 

Yuuri did what he could in the short amount of time. He made the decision and quickly leaned down to stop the boy from running too far away. This stopped the boy from running away too far and getting lost. When Yuuri looked up quickly with his peripheral vision the frazzled mother seemed relieved by this simple action. Yuuri turned back to the child and got a good look at him. The child couldn’t be more than two years old and was tired, this could be seen by how often he kept rubbing his eyes and Yuuri could see it in the child’s eyes. Which would explain why he was being so difficult. So Yuuri kneeled there with the young boy who was now rubbing his eyes a little less, he was fighting sleep and was he leaned into Yuuri’s leg. Yuuri kept the child occupied by opening the blanket on Vicchan’s kennel a bit and showing him the dog inside. Yuuri’s beloved dog poked his head out and looked to the young boy. It filled Yuuri’s heart with joy to watch the tired child’s eyes light up as he leaned on Yuuri’s leg. At least this kept him distracted and the mother came over as fast as she could with the suitcases and the carry-on that she was left to take care of. She spoke in fast Russian but from her tone, Yuuri could tell she was thankful and the boy made his mother look at the dog inside before he would leave. 

 

Once the boy was off with his mother again and Yuuri’s ride was getting closer. It was nice to know that he would soon be out of the cold. Yuuri sighed softly and stretched a bit, a small white fleck landed on the lens of his glasses. For a moment it was confusing to him, what could possibly be landing on his lens? It wasn’t ash, it wasn’t any cleaning powders, or even the off chance that is was sulfur. Yuuri wasn’t at home so the springs weren’t there and thus sulfur couldn’t be flaking off. Then to top it off the sulfur from the springs was always yellow and he would have smelled it long before now. He would have smelled it when he walked out of the airport then it hit him; he was in Russia it was snow, not sulfur. 

 

So not only was it below freezing but it was starting to snow. This was not something Yuuri had hoped for. It would figure that the day that was supposed to be clear weather and above freezing was, in fact, a storm. When Yuuri checked the forecast before he got dressed for the plane. It was meant to be above freezing and with clear skies and no snow. Leave it to the meteorologists to get it wrong. It was like his father always said ‘never trust a weather-man, they can’t tell a breeze from a sneeze or a dust cloud from fog’. Yuuri remembers the first time he heard that. An older American man had come in and said that. His father was so amused, that he adopted for himself. Since then Yuuri’s father said that every time the weather was different from what the weatherman said. 

 

After zoning out from the memory Yuuri realized how cold he was getting. So he did what he could, he breathed as warm of air as he could manage on his hands and jumped up and down for a moment. This allowed him to keep himself semi-warm in the cold weather. He envied his dog right now, curled up around a heating element with a fur coat and blanket fort. After the child had left Yuuri put the blanket back down to keep Vicchan was nice and warm. This Yuuri was not and was once again regretting his choice of jacket once more. Yuuri watched as the car crept closer and closer, it seemed to him that this car was moving slower and slower as time went on. This could be due to the fact that Yuuri was getting impatient and that slowed time down for him a bit. When Yuuri peered at the car a little closer he realized that he could now see the sign and it did, in fact, have his name on it. Not only in Kanji, and English but in Cyrillic as well. After living in America for five years the letters of the foreign alphabet of Cyrillic looked alien, and daunting to even try to understand. 

 

Yuuri was shaken when Vicchan let out a small grumbling huff, the poor dog was tired of being in a kennel. Yuuri could understand that. He was only out long enough to pee and stretch for a few moments, and that wasn’t fair to the dog but it was for his own safety that he was put back in the kennel. Yuuri had managed to get the dog into his sweater before he put him back in his kennel as well. With the snow falling now he was glad he did. The temperature had dropped even more if it was possible. With how small Vicchan was it wouldn’t take long for him to get cold out in this weather. 

 

As his ride crept closer and closer Yuuri kept his eyes on it and watched as it became close enough to where Yuuri could load his things into the trunk. But based on the look that the driver had Yuuri wasn’t going to move. The driver didn’t seem to want Yuuri to get off the sidewalk. That was just a hunch Yuuri had after the nasty look he got when he tried to move off the sidewalk; into the snow with the small berm that laid against the concrete. So he stayed put as he kept shaking gently to try and keep himself warm. If he was outside much longer his teeth were going to start to chatter. 

 

Yuuri had no issues with loading his own things into the car, it wasn’t as though he expected others to wait on him. It was usually the other way around, he was used to providing comfort for others around him. Being an Omega that tended to make him cater to those around him more, but having grown up serving guest it made it second nature to him. Sometimes it was even to his detriment, there had been times when his family had made him sit down and rest, not only to get off his feet but to eat something. When Yuuri got busy he would forget about his own needs to serve others. 

 

When Yuuri started to look more closely at the car he found he couldn’t see into the back of the car because of the partition. It was a dark tinted piece of glass or plastic, more than likely enough that the passenger could see out but no one could see the back seat. When Yuuri looked at the driver he found that is was an older gentleman that was driving. Yuuri couldn’t see his face just a few feet back but now he could see the distinct features. It almost looked like his face was permanently frozen in a scowl, just like Yuuri’s mother had warned him about when he was younger. Yuuri could remember pouting and his mother warning him not to make that face otherwise it would freeze like that. It was a rather silly thought and relaxed Yuuri for a second. Just for that second. It didn’t last long before his anxiety was back and he was starting to shiver a bit.

 

While standing in the cold as the soft white flecks danced their way through the sky, Yuuri was worried that he was going to his death. He had heard about the Russian Mafia, what if that’s who he was working with? One wrong choice and he could be dead. Now that he thought about it, all he knew was that the family he was going to work for had long admired his work and he had needed to have a quite in-depth background check. Watching the snow ever so gently glide down and land was relaxing though. Some seemed to spin their way down, others drifted and a few swayed in the air like a feather that was falling. Sometimes nature had its own calming effect, no meds or breathing was needed. Just nature. That was all it took to calm Yuuri down. 

 

Once the car drew even closer he could really notice the features of the man who was driving. He had had gray hair, but there wasn’t much of it. What was there was also thin and you could almost see through it even from this distance. The man was starting to go bald. This made Yuuri do a double take for looking around at the other cars. There were no others that even came slightly close to what he was looking for. As well as a wide set, square jaw. But he supposed an older driver was good, that way he wouldn’t fear for his life with someone young driving. 

 

Yuuri shifted on his feet as he waited to be picked up and bit his cheek to keep his teeth from chattering. His anxiety was spiking because he had no clue what he was going to do. He was getting into a complete strangers car and had no idea what would happen next. He didn’t even know who he was working for but he had been reassured many times that all would be taken care of upon his arrival. He just had to get that far first. The first step was getting into that sedan and hope he wasn’t going to be killed. 

 

When a gust of wind almost knocked Yuuri over he stepped back under the awning of the airport. His ride was almost to where he was standing. That’s when a group pushed their way through to get to the car in front of the black sedan. While he waited for the other people in front of him to clear away he stood patiently. He was less than amused at the people ahead of him so far. They seemed clueless that he was trying to get to his ride and even more clueless of his existence. He just waited though, he wasn’t going to be rude. When they turned around and almost ran into him even though he was a foot or so behind them they said some less than savory words to him. Yuuri didn’t know exactly what they had said but the tone they had was sharp. The Russian they were speaking was fragmented and had heavy accents on it. He was not going to take it personally though. People were always cranky after getting off the plane. The cold weather and the snow didn’t help either. It didn’t look like they were dressed for the cold either. 

 

The jackets they were wearing were no more than a light windbreaker that allowed the wind to pass by. But the cold air would seep right in and chill them even more than it did Yuuri. The tags on their luggage showed they had just come back from Italy. The only reason Yuuri knew that was that he had been through that same airport so the letters that they had on the luggage tags showed just where they had come from. It also seemed that they were foreigners. Just by the way, they acted around the other people waiting for a ride. 

 

From what he could tell the people had rushed over to get in a car and it was the wrong car. So

the people kept speaking rudely to Yuuri but he simply listened to the foreign tongue and stood there taking the abuse. He didn’t care what was being said, just listened as he read the sign in the window of the car. He was able to verify that it was, in fact, his name, though there was a small spelling error in the English version of his name. It was minor though and easily made. While when translated Yuuri’s name would look like ‘Yūri’ he much preferred it to be spelled with a second ‘U’. That was mostly for work though, it could be spelled either way. But for work purposes, it always had to be spelled with two U’s. Yuuri wouldn’t make much of a fuss though. It wasn’t worth it, for such a small mistake. That mistake wasn’t even one of great importance just of preference. 

 

Once the line of cars moved up Yuuri was able to walk over to his ride. The people had moved off talking among themselves and it was no doubt about how rude the Asian man standing in their way was. Yuuri didn’t care at this moment in time what others thought of him. It was amazing how cold he got emotional when he was tired and had just come out of a heat. He didn’t have the energy to care what others thought. It was so exhausting thinking what everyone else thought of him. In the morning he would worry about what they thought. But for right now he didn’t and wouldn’t. His worry was getting out of the cold and not getting killed. 

 

He went to open the handle on the car but hesitated. How did one start this situation in a way that wouldn’t seem as though he was rude? Yuuri decided to knock on the window, that way he wouldn’t be seen as too straightforward and would seem polite. When Yuuri saw movement and the sign start to move he waited patiently as the man took down the sign. Yuuri took out his Passport and the paperwork that Yakov, the man who had approached him and hired him, had given him. The driver rolled down the window and took them gently from Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri watches as the older man skims it and nods with contentment that everything is in order, and he hops out of the car. The door was quickly shut behind him and Yuuri could feel the slightly warmer breeze from the car then the wind. The man must have had the heat on. Yuuri was very thankful for that.

 

Yuuri’s attention was reverted back when the man with the scowl approached him, it had lightened some but not enough to make Yuuri feel any better. In an attempt to make the man relax some Yuuri smiles softly trying to be friendly but mostly just feeling anxious around the stranger. Yuuri didn’t make eye contact though, he was still very careful with his gaze. It was always kept down or away unless there was a reason to look up.

 

Part of this was because he was from Japan and that was what he was always taught, and the other part was due to being an omega. The man in front of him was an alpha and one that didn’t try to control his scent. It was overwhelming and Yuuri had to take a deep breath to steal his mind. After Yuuri regained his composed the man nodded to him and he realized that the scent wasn’t so strong. For now, he was happy and felt pretty safe. This guy didn’t smell like he had any ill intentions. So Yuuri was able to relax some and feel more secure. He was in a new country where he didn’t know anyone and felt scared that he didn’t have a safety net to fall into if the need be.

 

Yuuri took a deep breath and held onto the kennel with his precious Vicchan held within it. After carefully parking his suitcase Yuuri still held the kennel. To put the kennel down Yuuri did a small side lean to put the kennel on the concrete ground. Yuuri then bowed in greeting and holds his hand out to shake the other men. He had to be polite and keep up appearances even if the world didn’t know Eros’ appearance, it wall all part of the great facade. This also meant that the man that was picking him up would have a good first impression and report back to his superior. With that good impression, he would appear more professional and qualified for the job. 

 

This also kept the charade that he had created to keep him going, this is the same act got him started. All the world knew what that when Eros made an appearance he wore a mask and didn’t speak. This mask was always a traditional kitsune mask. This mask always covered his full face and was the normal white and red mask that was worn during festivals. A festival was where Yuuri got the mask actually. Aito was the one to buy it for him, he was a teenager and saw people walking around in them. When Yuuri had gone to go get food Aito was there holding two masks while smiling. That was a good day… Even after all of that, Yuuri liked to keep his face hidden when doing big events and that was how Yuuri really wanted to keep it. 

 

It allowed him to hide from prying eyes. He could be himself and not fear what people would think. Yuuri was the world famous Eros when he wore that mask. There wasn’t the weight of anxiety with Yuuri when he wore that mask he didn’t have that. When an official tracked him down through mail records and got his phone number to call him Yuuri was worried he was going to be harassed, instead he was offered a job.

 

After his bow, Yuuri looked up and brought the eye contact to the alpha in front of him for only a second and then decided it was time to speak. Yuuri had been assured that speaking English would be fine. He had offered to learn Russian but Yakov; the man who had hired him had told him not to worry about it. His exact words were somewhat comforting to Yuuri when he had said them, Yuuri had also been about two seconds away from a panic attack when this was said to him though. 

 

_ “You will not worry about speaking Russian; the staff needs to improve their English anyway”  _ he had criticized these people in a way that wasn’t the kind of harsh criticism you faced when your boss was upset with you but was rather the kind that a father gave his children. It was equal parts scary and comforting. Yuuri felt like he was joining a family. He was really glad that was the case as well, he was worried he would die and no one would care. That is the only thing that saved him from the panic attack he had been facing from being tracked down. 

 

After standing and waiting for the other to speak Yuuri decided he should speak up. 

 

“I’m Katsuki, Yuuri” he announced to the other man as he nodded to him. It was awkward, but how else was he supposed to introduce himself? He had shown his ID and the papers that Yakov had given him, so the person in front of him already knew who he was. It would be rude to just jump in the car and say  _ ‘let’s go!’ _ . So he was awkward at this moment.

 

“I know who you are, I’m the one that gave you this job” the man grumbled in a low voice as he picked up the bag that Yuuri had beside him and walked around to the back. He didn’t seem to be too thrilled to be where he was as he loaded Yuuri’s bag into the back. Yuuri gaped a bit surprised at what this man had not only said but that he had just heaved a 50-pound suitcase into the air like it was nothing. 

 

“Yakov?” Yuuri asks as he stands there a tiny bit confused and his chest tightens once again with anxiety. Why was the man that had hired him here? Yuuri thought he was getting a driver not a staff member. Not that it mattered! It was just a surprise to him. So rather than just moving to get in the car Yuuri just shivered in the cold as the wind blew and Yuuri visibly curled into himself as his breath escaped him. The wind had him in just the right way that it knocked the breath from him so he was left gasping for breath slightly. 

 

Yakov grunted out a “Da” and opened the door for Yuuri and he could feel the warm air from within the car. Yuuri bowed to Yakov again in thanks and slid in the sedan after he put Vicchan and his kennel in the car first. Yuuri was glad that Yakov had the heat in the car on. When Yuuri was actually sitting on the leather seat he felt numb. The warmth of the heater meeting his cold body left his nerves confused so he just felt numb until he warmed up a little. Yakov was doing something outside of the car and when Yuuri had tried to get out he was given a stern look so he just stayed put. Yuuri had tried to get out to see if he could help Yakov. After the look, he got he decided it was best to follow what the look suggested and stay put. 

 

Yuuri lifted the blanket on Vicchan’s kennel to look in and check on him. The dog was sound asleep in the kennel. Yuuri knew this because he could see the rise and fall of the dog's body. There was a moment where Yuuri had to really look because he thought his dog was dead. That was a common occurrence because Vicchan breathed so deeply that he didn’t look like he was breathing at all. There had been more than a few times that Yuuri had to poke his dog to make sure he was living. This was done by a gentle prod while he watched for movement. Most the time Vicchan would open his eyes and turn his head to look at Yuuri. It was a comfort to see Vicchan was still breathing, especially since he was so old. 

 

The front door on the driver's side opens and Yakov slips into the seat. He looks into the back to make sure Yuuri was there and shut the door. With the push of a button, the car started with a gentle purr. It was only the slight shake of the car when the engine started that he even knew the car was running. The engine was so silent, it was nice not to hear the roar that most engines let off when they were started. Yuuri sat back and let Yakov drive. He just paid attention to his dog and made sure he was doing ok. 

 

At a stoplight, Yakov handed Yuuri the glitter glue sign. He didn’t say a word just handed it to him. With careful hands, Yuuri looked at it. It looked like it was made by a child, but it was still very well done. When Yuuri turned it over it had an elegantly written letter on the back. The cursive was flawless and looked like a work of art rather than a letter. When Yuuri was done looking at the writing he decided to read it. 

 

_ ‘Dear Eros, _

 

_ While you may not know me or know me only by my projected persona I know you quite well, or at least your work. I have been an admirer of your work for many years, it started when you looked at a long time confidante’s work. You made him think about things that he never saw before. He found the beauty in his work that he had lost many years before. It was then I knew once you grew a bit in social standing you would be perfect as an art curator.  _

 

_ To know that now you are working for my family has made me jubilant. I can not wait for you to arrive and be in my care. I hope you have enjoyed the sign I made for you. Yakov told me it was childish but I wanted you to feel welcome.  _

 

_ Waiting impatiently, _

_ Viktor Nikiforov _

_ Crown Prince of Russia’ _

 

Yuuri blinked once as he quickly reread that. The Crown Prince? As in royalty? He was working for the royal family. Not just any royal family, the Russian royal family. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So how was that? If you enjoyed it and would like more please let me know! As for the sulfur in the hot springs, I know that it is dissolved in the water but sulfur has a tendency to build up and when this happens it can flake off and fall like snow if the wind picks it up. 
> 
> This chapter was more or less just to see how the reception would be. If you like it let me know! If enough people like it I will continue to write it.


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